Professor , School of Community and Public Affairs
Professeure , School of Community and Public Affairs

Marguerite (Margie) Mendell, who earned her PhD in Economics from McGill University (1983), has been teaching at the SCPA since 1986. Her current research and teaching are on the social economy in Quebec and internationally, social finance and impact investing, social innovation, the commons, economic democracy, and the work of Karl Polanyi whose influence continues to grow today. Margie Mendell is participating in a growing international dialogue on innovative economic initiatives to reduce inequality and develop new collective forms of wealth creation through her participation at scholarly conferences and international meetings of the OECD, the European Commission, the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF) and civil society gatherings. She also participates in consultations in Canada (federal, provincial, municipal) and abroad on issues related to social finance and impact investing and the social and solidarity economy. Her work, published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and most recently in Korean, has generated international interest. Dr. Mendell is also the co-founder of the Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy established at Concordia University in 1988, the repository of the entire Karl Polanyi Archive.

Margie Mendell is a member of the Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES - UQAM); honorary member of the Global Social Economy Forum. She is member of the Board of Directors of the Chantier de l'économie sociale and la Tohu. As well, Margie Mendell is a member of the editorial board of The Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science, and is on the Advisory Board of Studies in Political Economy, among others. She is a frequent contributor to television, radio and written media on public policy issues in Canada, Québec, and internationally.

Areas of research and teaching

Community Economic Development (comparative perspectives)
Social finance and impact investing in Quebec and internationally
The social and solidarity economy including social enterprise (comparative perspectives)
Innovation in public policy formation
Social innovation
The commons
Economic democracy
Governance from theoretical and comparative perspectives
Social indicators
The life and work of Karl Polanyi

Selected publications

Mendell, M. and Béatrice Alain. (2015) "Enabling the Social and Solidarity Economy through the Co-Construction of Public Policy" in Peter Utting, ed. Social and Solidarity Economy Beyond the Fringe. London, Zed Books, pp. 166-182.

Mendell, M. and N. Neamtan. (2010). “The Social Economy in Quebec: Towards a New Political Economy” in L. Mook, J. Quarter, and S. Ryan (eds.), Why the Social Economy Matters. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 32-58.

“Social Enterprises in OECD Member Countries: What are the Financial Streams?” in A. Noya (ed) The Changing Boundaries of Social Enterprises. OECD, 2009, pp. 89- 138. [With R. Nogales].

“The Three Pillars of the Social Economy. The Quebec Experience (1996-2007)” in A. Amin. Social Economy: Alternative Ways of Thinking about Capitalism and Welfare. London: Zed Press 2009.

Mendell, M. (2009). “The Social Economy in Quebec: Lessons and Challenges for International Co-Operation” in D. Reed and J.J. McMurty (eds.), Cooperatives in a Global Economy: The Challenges of Co-Operation across Borders. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 226-241.